Katie Allan, a Glasgow University student who was jailed for a fatal drink-driving hit-and-run, killed herself in June after regular strip searches at Polmont Prison, a young offenders' institution in Scotland.
"The searches were supposed to be random or intelligence-led but it always seemed to be her," her mother Linda told the Daily Record, a Scottish tabloid, suggesting that Katie could have been targeted for her compliant behavior.
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According to Linda, her daughter was even forced to stand naked during a jail training exercise. "There was an incident when they were training female officers and they chose Katie to be strip-searched. She was absolutely distraught after that because she was made to stand naked while they had a conversation."
The day before she took her own life, Katie was threatened by staff that she could be transferred to the tougher, adult section of the prison.
"Katie had been bullied and berated and was in clear distress. She had lost her hair," the mother bemoans. "On my last visit to see her with her brother, we knew something was wrong. She looked exhausted and hadn't slept because she was being terrorized and bullied.
The court sentenced the young woman to 16 months in jail in February (in Scotland, young offenders institutions provide custodial facilities for 16-21 year olds). Allan mowed down a 15-year-old runner in Glasgow while drunk and then fled the scene in her vehicle. She was convicted despite claiming that she was unaware that she struck the boy and despite a plea from the victim's parents, who said they didn't want her to be put in jail.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Prison Service refused to make any comment in advance of inquiry into Allan's death, but promised to "fully cooperate" with the investigation.
